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11/27/13 @ 3:35 pm EST
Coming in January this year, Legenderry: A Steampunk Adventure will see writer Bill Willingham and artist Sergio Fernandez Davila take on a host of Dynamite’s most recognizable characters for a seven-issue re-imagining. Not only will the story have characters as diverse as Green Hornet, Vampirella, The Six Million Dollar Man and Red Sonja all in the same story – the story will be set inside a giant world created by the creative team, based around the steampunk genre. To find out more about the series, I spoke to Willingham about how the project came about, how he built up this new world for the series, and his plans for the characters going forward. The Beat: Legenderry: A Steampunk Adventure takes characters from a whole range of genres and contexts and places them within one steampunk world. How did you first come onboard a project like this?
Bill: It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a place where I had enough room in my schedule to work on something new. That time is still not quite upon us, but Nick and I have been itching to work on a book together for Dynamite for years now. I wasn’t able to bring something brand-new and creator owned to the table since there’s a lot of work to put into building a new series from the ground up. Initially, I wanted to work on a series that borrowed characters that no one else was using at the time to avoid having to deal with continuity and where they all are in their current books. All of the characters that appear in Legenderry are characters that are currently being used, so Nick got a little creative and that’s where the steampulp idea came from – a place where I could create new versions of these characters in my own way that was separate from everything else going on. The Beat: How do you view the concept of steampunk, personally? Have you written within the style before?
Bill: I have not written within the genre before, but not really for any other reason than I dislike the term “steampunk”. The “steampunk” genre embodies brilliant aspects from the works of HG Wells and Jules Verne who wrote of adventurers, discovery and action. They were not punks. Punks instead fit into the subgenre of cyberpunks because cocky punks are exactly who they were and one of the reasons that I never warmed up to the genre as a whole. I call the genre steampulp since it more accurately describes the vibe that I’m going for, but I expect that the time to change the name of the genre has long past and my redubbing of it won’t catch on. The Beat: How much input did you have in the individual design of the characters, and of the general aesthetic of the miniseries itself?
Bill: As much as I wanted. At least that’s the impression I got, but I haven’t yet really had to test the limits, since the character designs and art were so well done from the starting gate that I asked for very few changes. I requested things like, “I’d like to see her hair a bit longer, or his coat a bit longer, or I see Zorro’s sword as being a skosh thinner.” Nothing major. Also, so far, I’ve never had to ask for a correction of any of the artwork Sergio has done for the actual story. He seems to start at wonderful and adds quality from there. The Beat: When you take on a story like this, how carefully do you plan out the World which the characters inhabit? How important is it to you that you get the details of the city, and the society, and make sure everything fits together?
Bill: The world building part of any story, especially for a tale set in an entirely invented world, is perhaps the most important part of said story, at least in the planning and pre-planning stages. It’s also the most rewarding part for me. It’s like putting together an intricate 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle, with no picture on the box to guide you. It’s a combination of decision making and then extrapolating all of the possible results of those decisions. I love it. Getting all of the details right is vital. If I can’t make the world, and every important part of it, interesting and detailed and engaging to me, I can’t ask a reader to believe in it. The Beat: Are there any details in particular which you’re excited to see realized in the story? Bill: A few. First the look of The Big City (that’s actually its name), where the story starts out. Having the art in for the first two issues, I already see that Sergio has delivered more than my notes and imagination asked for. I got just a glimpse of the skyship Victory at the end of Issue Two and that again delivered wonderfully on my expectations. We’ve yet to get to Landing, the Miracle Science City, which comes along in issue four (or is it five?), which is the steampunk era view of what the future must look like. The Beat: Was it tricky to fit certain characters into the same universe? I can’t imagine fitting The Six Million Dollar Man into a Victorian setting would be easy, for example.
Bill: I thought fitting the Six Million Dollar Man into this world would indeed be the greatest challenge of the bunch. He turned out to be the most fun to adapt and is currently my favorite character in this world of the best possible characters. The Beat: Will you be getting inside the head of any of the characters like Vampirella, Red Sonja, Green Hornet, etc. – or will the story be viewing them from a distance?
Bill: Yes. Deeply so in at least one instance. But I’ll divulge no details. Sorry. The Beat: The story seems to be a large-scale mystery, with pieces being put together each issue. What kicks off the narrative of Legenderry?
Bill: It is a mystery, yes, which is to say, it’s a mystery who the villains are and what they want with the MacGuffin character, the woman who leads us from one of our heroes to the next. But it’s also a chase against time, where the adventure leads us on a tour of the entire world of Legenderry. The Beat: We’ll be following a young woman as she interacts with various characters in turn throughout the series – do you view her as the guide for the reader? The classic stories associated with steampunk are usually works by people like H.G. Wells, which are all about a guide/adventurer heading off and introducing the reader to all kinds of new ideas and sights.
Bill: I so want to answer this question in detail, but I’ve already said too much about her. She’s not the guide. She’s the treasure everyone seems to be after. But why? The Beat: Although this is a complete seven-issue storyline, do you think you could ever be tempted back for another story set in this world, at some point in the future?
Bill: Yes. Why create a whole world just for seven issues of anything? I always want to explore further. http://comicsbeat.com/interview-bill-willingham-creates-a-legenderry-world/
11/29/25 @ 11:47 am EST
If you’re of a certain age, then you realize that Peter Hammond was not the first live-action Spider-Man to appear on television screens. That honor goes to Jim Hensen puppeteer Danny Seagren who was a regular on both Sesame Street and The Electric Company. Seagren was both a puppeteer and puppet maker and was the right hand of Ernie along with putting on the Big Bird suit on several occasions including an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. He was also the web slinger on the show that started the careers of Rita Moreno and Morgan Freeman as both shows fell under the Children’s Television Workshop. He went on to create puppets for other series like Curiosity Shop, Captain Kangaroo and Who’s Afraid of Opera. “Danny will be greatly missed by his family, friends and those throughout the community he loved living in,” his family said in his obituary. Seagren died on November 10th at the age of 81.  11/29/25 @ 11:31 am EST
Director Shawn Levy has officially hired renowned composer Thomas Newman to craft the score for his upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter film. The collaboration marks a significant moment for the celebrated sci-fi franchise, as Newman steps into a universe long defined by the iconic music of John Williams. His distinguished career includes memorable scores for films such as The Shawshank Redemption, Finding Nemo, and 1917, brings a fresh perspective to the Star Wars saga. Over the years, Newman has earned an impressive 15 Oscar nominations, a testament to his exceptional talent and enduring impact on the film industry. Levy, celebrated for his work on blockbusters like Free Guy and Deadpool and Wolverine, and the hit series Stranger Things, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership. He highlighted Newman's ability to blend sweeping orchestral moments with subtle, character-driven motifs—a style well-suited to the expansive and adventurous spirit of Star Wars. While plot details remain under wraps, Levy and Newman’s collaboration promises a thrilling and emotionally resonant cinematic experience.  11/16/25 @ 12:48 pm EST
While most of the focus over at Marvel Studios is currently on the pair of upcoming Avengers films, Ryan Coogler is ready to return to Wakanda for a third Black Panther film. We’d heard of the possibility of the film originally from Denzel Washington who, while speaking of his potential retirement, mentioned the film as one of his future projects and then when Nate Moore left Marvel last year, he said he would be back producing the third Black Panther film. Now, Coogler himself said while on stage talking about his film Sinners, that Black Panther 3 would be his next movie. The series kicked off with Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, king of the African Nation of Wakanda and while he reprised the role in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, he sadly passed away shortly after. The sequel dealt with the characters death and passed the mantle on to his sister Shuri played by Letitia Wright who is expected to reprise the role in the upcoming Avenger films, but with talks of a potential soft reboot of the MCU, it’s unclear who will be wearing the mask for the third film.  11/16/25 @ 12:31 pm EST
The most recent news on the DCU has to do with Jimmy Olsen. Variety is reporting that Skyler Gisondo will reprise his role from Superman in a true-crime docuseries style show that focuses on villains in the universe starting with the Flash rogue, Gorilla Grodd. Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault are set to write and showrun with James Gunn and Peter Safran joining them as executive producers. The show is planned for HBO Max and will be a mockumentary style similar to Yacenda and Perrault’s previous series like American Vandal and Players. In the original report, Variety claimed the series would be called DC Crime, something Gunn took to social media to debunk, saying there had never been any project in production called DC Crime, he then added that his saying that doesn’t mean that the rest of the report is false. This sounds like a pretty good confirmation to me.  11/15/25 @ 12:49 pm EST
A new Star Trek film is in the works and Paramount is tapping the team of Jonathan Goldstein and John Frances Daley to write, produce and direct. This news comes shortly after David Ellison, founder of Skydance who recently purchased the studio, told investors that the next Star Trek film would not be a sequel to the Chris Pine/ Zachary Quinto lead series of films. While this hasn’t been 100% confirmed, word is that the new film will be focused on new characters and not directly tied to any previous film or television series. Goldstein and Daley have a good track record when it comes to revitalizing franchises having written Spider-Man: Homecoming for Marvel Studios and wrote and directed Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves which was very well received by fans and critics.  11/15/25 @ 12:32 pm EST
With The Fantastic Four: First Steps having moved to Disney+, the Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby lead team is now first in fans minds. But one person still thinks about the First Family of Marvel presented a decade ago and what went wrong. Miles Teller, who played Reed Richards in Josh Trank’s 2015 version of the property, still thinks about the project and how he believes the problems all came down to one person. Teller was on Sirius XM’s Radio Andy show said, “You saw the movie, right? Your eyes were working during that time? I think it’s unfortunate because so many people worked so hard on that movie. And, honestly, maybe there was one really important person who kind of f***ed it all up.” While Teller didn’t say who that was, he was referring to the person who made the final cut on the film, which was not director Trank. Teller said that he wanted a superhero film on his resume to help show him as a serious leading man, but after seeing the final cut recalled, “I remember talking to one of the studio heads, and I was like, ‘I think we’re in trouble.'” The 2015 version made $167 million worldwide compared to this year’s version which made $521 million. He stopped short of calling for a director’s cut of the film.  11/09/25 @ 2:03 pm EST
The Creeper is a unique character from DC Comics, first introduced in "Showcase #73" in 1968. Created by Steve Ditko, The Creeper’s real name is Jack Ryder, a former television talk show host and investigative journalist in Gotham City. After being attacked during an undercover operation at a costume party, Ryder is injected with a serum by Dr. Yatz and gains superhuman abilities, including enhanced strength, agility, rapid healing, and a pain tolerance bordering on the supernatural. The serum, combined with a bizarre costume, transforms him into The Creeper, a vigilante known for his wild laughter, erratic behavior, and flamboyant appearance—a shock of green hair, yellow skin, and a red mane-like cape. The Creeper remains largely untouched by mainstream media, providing an opportunity to introduce audiences to a fresh face and break away from more established archetypes. His blend of horror, humor, and psychological complexity could create a film that stands out from traditional superhero fare. The Creeper’s unsettling persona and visual style lend themselves well to a film that could blend genres—horror, black comedy, and superhero action. His maniacal laugh and unpredictable methods could inject dark humor and psychological thrills, appealing to fans of films like "Joker" and "Deadpool" while carving out a distinctive identity in the DCU. Jack Ryder’s journey from cynical journalist to bizarre vigilante offers rich storytelling potential. Exploring themes of identity, sanity, and the nature of heroism, a Creeper film could delve into Ryder’s internal struggles and the impact of his dual life, making for a character-driven narrative that resonates with audiences seeking depth and complexity. And with being set in Gotham City, The Creeper’s adventures naturally intersect with the city’s gritty underworld, providing opportunities for noir-style detective storytelling. His background in journalism and investigation can be leveraged to create suspenseful plots involving corruption, criminal conspiracies, and moral ambiguity—making him an ideal protagonist for a film that explores the darker aspects of the DC Universe. The Creeper stands as one of DC Comics’ most unconventional and intriguing characters. His untapped potential, distinctive personality, and ability to straddle multiple genres make him a perfect candidate to lead a film in the new DCU.  ... 11/09/25 @ 1:37 pm EST
Predator: Badlands is doing very well, thanks for asking. The latest film in the long-running franchise set a few high franchise marks including domestic opening with $40M, best worldwide opening with $80M and best Cinemascore with an A-. The film also sits a the top of this week’s box office beating out the 2nd place film, Regretting You, by $32.9M… though that film is in its 3rd week. Other new films opening this week, Sarah’s Oil and Nuremberg, opened in 4th and 5th with just over $4M each. Badlands is the third Predator project for director Dan Trachtenberg, the first Prey showed how he could handle the franchise but then he wanted to follow it up with an animated film, Killer of Killers and then for the first time Badlands make the Predator the protagonist. 
11/08/25 @ 4:21 pm EST
Recent reports about problems on the set of Stranger Things may not have been what they seemed. There were stories being published that Millie Bobby Brown had filed a report against co-star David Habour, accusing the older actor of bullying. But the validity of those reports are now in question as both Brown and Harbour joined their Stranger Things cast members at the red=carpet premiere of the show’s fifth and final season. Brown and Harbour were seen joking together and even hugging. Brown has also spoke of Habour to Extra, saying: “It’s been amazing. We’re so lucky to have each other. The show means so much to the both of us, and to everyone here. This has been the last 10 years of our lives.” Brown stars as the psych-powered Eleven and Harbour plays Sherriff Jim Hopper who ends up adopting her. The fifth and final season will release on Netflix in three sets with Volume 1 on November 26 (four episodes), Volume 2 on Christmas (three episodes), and The Finale on New Year’s Eve.  11/01/25 @ 2:53 pm EST
There is a major movie franchise out there that is not going by its original name and it’s thanks to the star. When screenwriter Derek Kolstad finished what would become is most popular film, he was inspired by revenge-thrillers with one-word titles like Payback and Shooter. He dubbed his film, Scorn. The problem came when the star of the film went out and talked about it, he always referred to it by the lead character’s name rather than the title. After a while, the studio realized that their star, Keanu Reeves, had done millions of dollars worth of brand recognition for the name John Wick… they decided to go with it and renamed the film. Why Reeves did this is unknown, but Kolstad has since admitted that John Wick is a better franchise name, saying, “I can’t imagine it being Scorn now.” Was this an intentional thing on Reeves’ part or just a happy coincidence? We may never know.  |
